Evolutionary Aikido summer camp, Montreux, Switzerland

From the Evolutionary Aikido Community Facebook page.

We are happy to present you Ray Butcher, dojo cho of Henshin Aikido, Dublin, Ireland. He will be sharing his energy during our EAC summer camp starting in one month! Come and join us for the first EAC summer camp in beautiful Montreux Switzerland, August 5th-10th. Sign up by sending an email to info@aikidomontreux.com

Ray’s bio

Ray Butcher Henshin Aikido Dublin

I am co-owner of Balance Ireland where I teach Aikido (Henshin Aikido), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Self Defence, Yoga and mobility. I also specialise in Women’s Self Defence, teaching a program called ‘Reduce the Odds’. It uses scenario based training to deal specifically with awareness and sexual assault/rape prevention. 

I started training when I was 10 years old in the 70s. I have studied various martial art traditions, including Judo, several styles of Karate and striking arts, Aikido and Gracie Jiu Jitsu. I started practicing Yoga in the early 2000s and completed my teacher training in 2011. I have worked in the field of Crisis Intervention teaching Control & Restraint and Defensive Tactics to security personnel and health professionals. I currently hold a 4th Dan black belt in Aikido and a 1st degree black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

As I started at a young age, I developed a passion for martial arts and eastern philosophy. In my late teenage years I began to feel, especially form a physical perspective, that there had to be a better way to resolve a conflict than winning at the expense of the other person, In my mid twenties I moved from Ireland to Australia, and it was there that I found Aikido at a University club in Sydney. I distinctly remember during my first class having a sense of belonging. As I delved deeper into Aikido, I found the answers I was looking for in the founder’s philosophy but I soon realised that it was going to take a lot longer for this to manifest physically. 

Because of my experience in the other martial arts I felt confused and unsure physically about Aikido and its practically. In the early 2000s I began to feel a shift in my understanding and started to make some changes and progress. I finally found the way forward when I began to let go and start to trust the process of Aikido and realising that my previous concepts of self protection and conflict resolution were flawed. Two main influences that paved the way forward for me back then were with my study of Gracie Jiu Jitsu under Phil and Ricardo Migliarese, and then later in 2011 when I began to study Aikido with Patrick Cassidy Sensei and Evolutionary Aikido.

After almost 30 years of practice, Aikido obviously plays a very important role in my life. It has and continues to open up many avenues of growth, constantly keeping me creatively engaged and open minded. Rather than close the door on my past martial arts experience, Aikido opened up a new and wonderful way to look at all the arts I have studied. Utilising Aikido’s principles gave me a greater understanding and appreciation and helped me to continue my studies in other areas and arts, such as Gracie Jiu Jitsu and conflict management. I believe that the basic Aikido curriculum is a very important foundation to learn the principles. To keep evolving and truly understand the vastness Aikido has to offer, we need to step outside this box of just technique based Aikido, take a risk and explore all avenues, hopefully creating opportunities to discover new possibilities.

Currently I am working on a ground based flow. The goal being to seamlessly include a complete flow from all ranges standing to ground, with single and multiple attackers. An important part of my training is to put myself in physically difficult, sometimes restrictive scenarios. To find solutions under stress, all the time staying curious with the process and true to myself and the core principles of Aikido.

I think a good description of Aikido is that it is a tool for reconciliation. At its core, it helps us to embrace conflict (inner and outer) with curiosity and confidence, cultivating inward reflection and peace. 

In conclusion I would like to say that I have met some amazing people on this journey. I am very grateful to all my teachers both past and present for sharing their knowledge. I feel very fortunate to walk this path, and to have the opportunity to study and teach.

Would you like to know more about Aikido?

More information on Ray’s dojo can be found here. You can find out information about Patrick Cassidy and the Montreux dojo at www.aikidomontreux.com, and more info on the Evolutionary Aikido Community at www.evolutionaryaikido.com.

Street Week at Balance!

Join us for a Free Self Defence class

at our 1st

Balance Street Week

 Tuesday 6th to Saturday 10th of September

street week

All of the classes will be focused on Self Defence. You can take part in our regular classes as part of our Free Trial offer. We also have a free Gracie Jiu Jitsu class on Saturday 10th. During our Street Week you will get to experience some of the self defence aspects of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Boxing/Kickboxing and Aikido.

We’ll also be offering a free 45 minute taster class of our Women only “Reduce the Odds” program. The program is specifically designed for women and addresses the most common sexual assault scenarios women of all ages are likely to face if attacked. You can find more info here!

Self defence is just one of many benefits in the study of a Martial Art. Increased self confidence, becoming more focused and disciplined, meeting and connecting with other people, strengthening the body, the mind and most importantly for us, creating a sense of community in a friendly and relaxed environment.

 

So why not take advantage, try out one of the following free classes for beginners:

 

Tuesday 6th – 6.30pm – ‘Reduce The Odds’ (Women only)

Tuesday 6th – 7.30pm – BJJ Street week

Wednesday 7th – 7.00pm – Boxing/Kickboxing 

Wednesday 7th – 8.00pm – Aikido

Thursday 8th – 7.30pm – BJJ Street week

Saturday 10th – 9.30am – Aikido Kids Self Defence (7yrs+)

Saturday 10th – 12-1.30pm – Gracie Jiu Jitsu Self Defence

 

To book your place, call 087 229 7215 or email info@tbi.ie and let us know your name and mobile number and what class you’d like to attend.

(If you are under 18, you’ll need a parent or guardian to come and sign a registration form)

Balance Logo

Balance Martial Arts

www.tbi.ie

1st floor ABCD, 40 Lower Drumcondra Road, Dublin 9

Balance Kids Summer Camp

kids-camp.jpg.jpeg

It’s Summer Camp time again in Drumcondra and if we get enough kids interested by 18th June, it will run from Monday 18th to Friday 22nd July 10.30am to 3pm.

We have a fantastic community of Instructors at Balance for the Summer Camp week. BJJ and Aikido will be taught by Ray, Mauro will be teaching Stunt Kids and Animal Movements and Tanja will be teaching Yoga. We’ll also have Assistant Instructors each day to help out.

So if you have a little person between 7 and 13 years old who is interested in trying out a Martial Arts or  Yoga, make sure you make contact with us asap as we only have a 20 places available on the camp.

You can call Maeve 087 229 7215 or Ray 087 229 0332 or you can email us info@tbi.ie. There’s also a contact form on our website www.tbi.ieMauro

Your kids will:

  • Have fun and get fit
  • Increase flexibility and agility
  • Learn new skills including anti bullying techniques
  • Develop co-ordination & focus
  • Build self confidence

Our Instructors are:

  • Highly qualified and fully insured
  • Garda Vetted
  • Trained in First Aid
  • We have 20 years teaching experience in the local community
  • We have coaching certification from the IAWA who are affiliated to the Irish Sports Council

 

 

Ray’s ‘Aikido wrist locks for BJJ’ on jiujitsu.com!

Maybe some of you don’t realise that Ray is a 4th dan in Aikido as well as being a BJJ Black belt!

He recently taught his ‘Aikido Wrist locks for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’ seminar here at Balance in Dublin and thanks to Ray’s Instructors Phil & Rick Migliarese, he also taught the seminar while on a training trip to the USA at the brand new Balance International HQ in Fishtown, Philadelphia!

The guys from Jiujitsu.com also came down and recorded Ray’s seminar at Balance International HQ, so the techniques are now available on-line HERE! ….  so if you want to add some slick wrist locks to your game, watch the promo video below and click on the link!

 

 

Balance banner

 

Balance Martial Arts and Yoga is run by Ray Butcher and Maeve D’Arcy.

We offer instruction in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Mixed Martial Arts, Yoga and Women’s Self Defence.

Our Instructors are highly qualified and experienced, including Ray a Aikido 4th dan, BJJ Balance BJJ Aikido MMA Yoga in DublinBlack belt and Mauro a former Italian National Pro Kick-boxing Champion.

We have classes that are suitable for men, women, teenagers and children (6 years +).

Beginners are always welcome!

Come and learn in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.